Until
early 1992 Xocali was a little known, smallish Azeri town of some
7000 souls, located midway between Xankandi and Agdam
on the Barda to Goris road and home to Xankandi's
airport.

Xocali's fame came only from its tragic
fate. For several weeks the town was besieged by Armenian forces and had
contact with the outside world only by sporadic helicopter flights. The
handful of defenders had little experience, almost no equipment and above
all scarce or no support from Baku.

Then
on February 26 1992, precisely 4 years after the Sumgait
massacres, the Armenians decided to make a final advance. The choice of
such a date clearly indicated an intention to revenge the Armenian victims
of Sumgait. The Armenian troops advanced in three directions, leaving an
open escape way in the direction of Agdam. The people of Xocali tried to
escape along the the Gorgor river, with the retreating Azeri troops trying
to provide some sort of protection from the hills.

But only 10 kilometres from Agdam, near
the village of Nakhichevaniki a tragedy was going to happen. Armenian
troops in the hills performed one of the most horrific massacres
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict - shooting from the hills at the defenceless
fleeing refugees.

At
least 477 people were killed, although some estimates point to a number
as high as one thousand. Some rumours indicate that besides the Armenians,
Russian troops were also involved in the massacre, namely the 366th Motorized
Infantry Brigade of the Interior Ministry, at the time based in Xankandi.

Xocali itself was burnt by the invaders
and now only ruins remain. The town has an archaeological station, where
over 100 tombs dating from the 2nd millennum bc can be seen - some have
been excavated.